Systems and methods for device and/or device type identification using wireless channel characteristics

Abstract

An access point of a wireless communication network may be configured to receive a solicited wireless communication from an electronic device in response to a request, the solicited wireless communication being transmitted by the electronic device over a channel of the wireless communication network. The access point may extract channel characteristics from the solicited wireless communication, the channel characteristics being timing-dependent effects on the channel associated with the solicited wireless communication. The access point may generate a device fingerprint based at least in part on the channel characteristics, the device fingerprint being specific to hardware of the electronic device. Using the device fingerprint, the access point or another device may determine an identification, indicative of at least one of an identity or a device type, of the electronic device based on a stored device profile representative of at least one authenticated electronic device.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method comprising:
 receiving, by at least one processor associated with a wireless communication network, a solicited wireless communication from an electronic device in response to a request, the solicited wireless communication being transmitted by the electronic device over a channel of the wireless communication network to an access point;   extracting, by the at least one processor, channel characteristics from the solicited wireless communication, the channel characteristics being timing-dependent effects on the channel associated with the solicited wireless communication;   generating, by the at least one processor, a device fingerprint based at least in part on the channel characteristics, the device fingerprint being specific to hardware of the electronic device; and   determining, by the at least one processor, an identification associated with the electronic device based at least in part on the device fingerprint matching a stored device profile representative of at least one pre-stored electronic device.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one pre-stored electronic device comprises a particular fingerprint of at least one previous electronic device that has been previously fingerprinted. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the identification is indicative of a particular device. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the identification is indicative of a particular type of device. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the particular type of device comprises a particular device model. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 communicating, by the at least one processor, the device fingerprint to a remote server, the remote server being configured to analyze the device fingerprint relative to the stored device profile; and   receiving, by the at least one processor, an indication of the identification from the remote server in response to the device fingerprint.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the request comprises an authentication challenge, and the response is derived from at least one pre-shared cryptographic secret. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the channel characteristics comprise at least one of:
 channel frequency response, or   channel state information.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the access point comprises a Wi-Fi access point. 
     
     
         10 . A system comprising:
 at least one processor of a wireless communication network, wherein the at least one processor is configured to:
 receive a solicited wireless communication from an electronic device in response to a request, the solicited wireless communication being transmitted by the electronic device over a channel of the wireless communication network to an access point; 
 extract channel characteristics from the solicited wireless communication, the channel characteristics being timing-dependent effects on the channel associated with the solicited wireless communication; 
 generate a device fingerprint based at least in part on the channel characteristics, the device fingerprint being specific to hardware of the electronic device; and 
 determine an identification associated with the electronic device based at least in part on the device fingerprint matching a stored device profile representative of at least one pre-stored electronic device. 
   
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the at least one pre-stored electronic device comprises a particular fingerprint of at least one previous electronic device that has been previously fingerprinted. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the identification is indicative of a particular device. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the identification is indicative of a particular type of device. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the particular type of device comprises a particular device model. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 communicate the device fingerprint to a remote server, the remote server being configured to analyze the device fingerprint relative to the stored device profile; and   receive an indication of the identification from the remote server in response to the device fingerprint.   
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the request comprises an authentication challenge, and the response is derived from at least one pre-shared cryptographic secret. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the channel characteristics comprise at least one of:
 channel frequency response, or   channel state information.   
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the access point comprises a Wi-Fi access point. 
     
     
         19 . A method comprising:
 receiving, by a Wi-Fi access point of a Wi-Fi network, a solicited wireless communication from an electronic device in response to a request, the solicited wireless communication being transmitted by the electronic device over a channel of the Wi-Fi network;   extracting, by the Wi-Fi access point, channel characteristics from the solicited wireless communication, the channel characteristics being timing-dependent effects on the channel associated with the solicited wireless communication;   generating, by the Wi-Fi access point, a device fingerprint based at least in part on the channel characteristics, the device fingerprint being specific to hardware of the electronic device;   communicating, by the Wi-Fi access point, the device fingerprint to a remote server, the remote server being configured to analyze the device fingerprint relative to a stored device profile;   receiving, by the Wi-Fi access point, an indication of identification from the remote server in response to the device fingerprint, the identification being indicative of at least one of a device identity or a device type; and   determining, by the Wi-Fi access point, an authentication associated with the electronic device based at least in part on the indication of identification.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the channel characteristics comprise at least one of:
 channel frequency response, or   channel state information.